The "Prisoners" screening did not include stars Hugh Jackman or Jake Gyllenhall, Director Denis Villeneuve and producers Kira Davis, Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, and Adam Kolbrenner attended a Q and A, where Villeneuve indicated Jackman had expressed initial reservations about taking on the role as an angry father trying to punish the suspected abductor (played by Paul Dano) of his daughter and another girl.

Unlike the Venice and Toronto fests, Telluride organizers opt for a straightforward presentation without red carpets or awards competitions and the organizers refuse to tout any title as a "premiere." So the official premieres of both "Prisoners" and "12 Years" will take place next week in Toronto on Sept. 6.

Despite the relative lack of fanfare, Telluride's seen an impressive list of awards contenders in recent years, serving as the awards-season launching pad for "Argo," "The King's Speech," "The Descendants," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Juno," "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote" and "The Last King of Scotland."